


happily ever after

by ElasticElla



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Minor Karen Page/James Wesley, Trans Marci
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 00:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4079227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of the named population, approximately 9% of the total population, most soulmates die within moments of each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	happily ever after

Of the named population, approximately 9% of the total population, most soulmates die within moments of each other. The few that have survived their soulmate’s death tend to describe it as half of their life force evaporating, and the will to live being replaced by a will to die. The media tries to make up for it, spinning tales about soulmates meeting against all odds and a love story not being complete without paired marks.

Karen is well aware of this, gun aimed at her soulmate’s chest. Unfortunately, he’s aware of it too. 

“You can’t shoot me,” he says, “we both know that, so let’s talk about-”

Karen squeezes the trigger and his eyes go wide. A hysterical bubble floats up as she keeps shooting- he shouldn’t be surprised by her choice, after all they were made for each other. 

She walks out, feeling lighter than she has since the day she met him.

.

The lightness doesn’t last very long. 

Josie’s is calling, and she plucks a bottle of tequila and glass from behind the bar. A quick scan reveals neither Foggy nor Matt are here, which is just as well. She wants to be alone for a little bit, and maybe with enough tequila, she’ll be bold enough to check her thigh for a mark that’s faded. Remembering her name on his collarbone, the way he unbuttoned his shirt so it’d be the first thing she saw regaining consciousness, she takes another shot. 

And another, and another, and another. 

.

She shot her happily ever after. 

The words aren’t true, but they don’t stop reverberating through her. She forces herself to play it out- he would have seen her as a liability, at best she’d be given a golden cage somewhere unknown. Even if they started dating, a stupid name wouldn’t have changed her mind about the murderer. 

The words still echo, and she has another shot. 

.

Days blend together, though she only goes to Josie’s on Thursdays- any other day the risk of her colleagues being there is too high. She hadn’t taken Marci into account, hadn’t thought she needed to. 

The blonde sits next to her with a sniff, grabbing her own glass. “The boys are worried about how much you’ve been drinking.” 

Karen almost sputters, setting her cup down. “And they sent _you_?”

Marci smiles, all small pointy teeth, “No. I was hoping for a drunken mishap to make you blush whenever I visit.” 

“I don’t blush that easily,” Karen says, but doesn’t refill her glass. 

“So what’s happening sugar? Argument with the soulmate? Hey, at least you have one, no one can ever accuse you of being soulless.”

Karen chokes on nothing, and Marci makes another assumption. “Foggy bear mentioned it, he’s a bit of a moron when it comes to that stuff.”

“Right, my file,” Karen mutters, and for a fleeting, dizzying instant, she imagines telling Marci what she did. Instead she asks, “Are you ever glad you don’t have one?” It’s a breath away from, ‘what do I do without one?’ which feels too childish to even ask.

Marci’s lips quirk. “Sometimes. I’d hate to meet them and have to explain Martin isn’t my name anymore.”

“Oh,” Karen says, pouring herself some more rum. “I didn’t know.”

“Of course not. You’d need to be about twenty times meaner to have intended _that_ question.” Marci pauses, taking Karen in. “Naturally it’d result in me propositioning you.”

Karen sputters, bright red, and Marci laughs.

.

The nightmares don’t stop, but she does stop scratching the mark in the daylight. She doesn’t want to die, which must make her twenty different kinds of defective. She lets the thoughts stew in the dark, where she can pretend they’re irrational. 

She shot-

.

She starts going to Josie’s on Fridays again. Foggy, Marci, and Matt are always there, and she stops drinking to forget. It isn’t quite acceptance, but it’s close enough. Her scar itches less, and sometimes she even forgets about it. 

In Josie’s bathroom, she’s washing her hands and watching Marci carefully reapply golden-pink lipgloss. Karen takes a breath, and dives. 

“That color looks terrible on you.”

Marci’s eyes cut through the mirror, surprise and amusement clear. “Oh yeah? You gonna kiss it off?”

She nods, tripping over haywire thoughts. “Yeah, I am.”

And Karen’s moving forward before she can second guess herself, kissing the blonde. Her lips taste like vanilla and martinis, soft and perfect. The door bangs open, and everything feels surreally okay.

“Wanna get out of here?”

“Only if we go to mine,” Marci says, and Karen smiles, happy.


End file.
